TechMyst > wrote:
>I'm in Harvard, IL so there is nothing spectacular here.

If you can get into the city (Sam's, Binnie's) to stock up,
you should be able to find something interesting. Or probably
more convenient, hit Kenosha for Woodman's (conveniently located
right off I-94 and Highway 50) or Tenuta's (closer to downtown).

>Murphy's was a little too sweet for my liking. I had Beamish and S.S.
>Imperial stout years ago, but I don't remember too much about them (I know I
>liked them), my taste buds were still too retarded I guess...

Of the three Irish stouts, I think Beamish is the sweetest,
with Guinness the most dry.

>Founder's

Hit or miss in my book. Good IPA, decent Scottish.

>Avery

I like most of Avery's lineup. The Beast is an exception--
to muddled, too much sugar/adjunct.

>Dogfish Head

Also hit and miss. In fact, probably mostly "miss" for me.
Exceptions are the 60- and 90-minute IPA.

>Victory

Solid brewery, at worst. Extremely tasty beers in general,
but the fresher the better.

>Three Floyds

Ditto.

>Great Divide

Probably my favorite overall Colorado brewery. Classic
examples of American-style IPA and Imperial IPA.

>and in the non-craft breweries
>Samuel Smith
>Fullers

Very solid brewers. Goive any of their beers a try.

>The next tier down would be ...
>
>Rogue

Eh.

>Lagunitas

Eh.

>Unibroue

Definitely worth a try. Somewhat of a "love 'em or
hate 'em" brewery. I like most of their offerings.

>Left Hand/Tabernash

Eh.

>Sprecher ( I thought they only made root beer! who knew!?)

Some very good, some just "eh." Beware of non-fresh
bottles, as I've had bad luck with infections in slightly
older Sprecher beers.

>Capital

A solid lager brewery. Nothing mind-numbingly great,
but well worth drinking.

>New Holland

With the exception of an occasional Dragon's Milk,
their beers just don't do anything for me. YMMV.

>LakeFront

Been too long since I've seen their beer to recall.
--
Joel Plutchak "Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and
plutchak@[...] sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea
is quite staggering." - Arthur C. Clarke